If you will separate them in terms of their design will be easy just by looking at them. But lamp shades may also be differentiated depending on how they light a specific room. For instance, task lighting can be made by a clear glass globe which will let almost the whole light pass through. On the other end, ambient lighting will prove to add more mood rather than brightness. Accordion lanterns made of colorful mulberry paper that generally cast a pinkish glow, on the other hand, will create peaceful surroundings.

A lamp globe, or even a lamp shade in a more common term, is a fixture that covers the bulb on a lamp to diffuse the lighting that it gives off or to block it in certain directions so it does not cause glare by shining straight in one's eyes.

Modern lamps usually have clean lines and little or very subtle adornment - a case where "less is more." A modern lamp may use materials in a new way or use materials not typically associated with lamps. You may see a new industrial materials or finishes show up in a modern design. They may present a new way of thinking about what home lamps should look like and function. Modern lamps push the design envelope - and one may experience the "shock of the new".